Yes! There Is Good News!
by Bill Rollins
11.24.22

“Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand.” We do have a King; Jesus Christ, the King of kings!! He does have land; “The man who makes me his refuge will inherit
the land and possess my holy mountain.” (Isaiah 57:13) And there are subjects to this kingdom; “Those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land” and “The meek will inherit the land” and “Those the LORD blesses will inherit the land” (Psalm 37:9, 11 & 22). These things we have discussed in previous articles. The only piece that remains for the establishment of a kingdom is the creation of a set of laws. Laws are an integral part of any new government.

Almost 240 years ago a group of men sat down together to consider the creation of a new nation; their gathering was known as The Constitutional Convention and they met in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They began the process of writing a constitution on May 25th ,1787, and after much discussion, wrangling, compromising and yes, prayer, 39 of the 55 delegates signed this document into law on September 17th; almost 4 months later the concept of the United States of America could move forward.

Without this set of fundamental laws of rights, liberties, and governing authority, our nation would not, could not exist. Now, our government was not set forth as a kingdom; we understand this. Our forefathers had had enough of the King of England. They had just fought a war to be free from that type of rulership.

But God, the one who is sovereign over the universe, will set up His kingdom here on earth when His Son Jesus Christ returns; as the book or Revelation puts it, “The kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign for ever and ever.” God will have an eternal kingdom! And His eternal kingdom will have a set of holy, good and righteous laws. Let’s look at God’s induction of His laws.

Approximately 3600 years ago God brought forth a rather large family of people from out of the nation of Egypt – we know them as the children of Israel. He would eventually take this rebellious people to a land that He had promised to their progenitor, Abraham. God knew that these people would need a system of laws that would regulate their nation, their society and their families and most importantly, show them how they should worship a holy God!!

This is how we read it from the hand of Moses, “See, I have taught you statutes and laws, as the LORD my God commanded me, that you should do them in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. Keep them and do them, for that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’ For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the LORD our God is to us, whenever we call upon him? And what great nation is there, that has statutes and laws so righteous  as all this law that I set before you today?” (Deuteronomy 4:5-8)

God is perfect in wisdom and in knowledge. What a beautiful gift it was that He gave to His people! More on this next time.

In consideration of the four ingredients for a kingdom, the next item on our list should be “law.” But I just reread the previous article and noticed the final quote, “But the man who makes Me his refuge will inherit the land and possess My Holy Mountain.” (Is. 57:13) My mind immediately went to the fourth item on our list, “subjects.”

Yes, a King must have subjects to rule over. How then shall we consider this topic? Who are the subjects? We have but to look at the above quote and we have a good idea of the answer. The one who makes God his refuge shall possess the mountain of the LORD! And not only that, but this one will inherit the land.

The topic of God’s Holy Mountain is a theme that runs through the book of Isaiah … we also find it given to us from the pen of Israel’s greatest king, David. In the history of Israel, we find many types and patterns of things to come. King David is a type of the future coming King, Jesus Christ – of whom we have already spoken, two articles ago.

We also see a type or pattern for us in Psalm 15, “LORD, who may dwell in your sanctuary? Who may live on your holy Mount?” In this Psalm David poses the question of ‘who’ and then lists the requirements for being a subject of the King – the true and future King. It is a short Psalm and I will include it in its entirety; verse 2-5, “He whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from his heart and has no slander on his tongue, who does his neighbor no wrong and casts no slur on his fellowman, who despises a vile man but honors those who fear the LORD, who keeps his oath even when it hurts, who lends his money without usury and does not accept a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things will never be shaken.”

Wow, that is quite a list. Who among us has a blameless walk and does what is righteous? NO ONE!! So how can we ever become the subjects of our God and King? Well, that is what the true good news of these articles is all about. Jesus Christ, the One who has become King of kings and Lord of lords has given His life for us. It was He that shed His blood to cover our sins. It was He that came down to earth to present Himself as a sacrifice for our sins. And so because of what He did – it is by the grace of God that redemption and righteousness has come to us through Christ Jesus.

I am reminded of the words of a song that is very dear to me, “Amazing love, how can it be, that you my King would die for me. Amazing love, I know it’s true, and it’s my joy to honor You.” (Written by Billy Foote and sung by Guy Penrod)

Is there any other king that would die for his subjects? I know not one! Is there any other king that has the power to give eternal life to his subjects? The question is absurd!

David has much more to say on this subject and so does the Apostle Paul. Perhaps we should look deeper into this part of God’s Kingdom for it is really the part that includes all of us. Until next time – reflect upon the “good news” of Jesus Christ.